JPH08310676A - Sheet feeding device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a sheet feeding device to prevent defective feeding of a sheet by removing foreign matters to cause a slip such as the paper powder attached to a sheet feeding means by a cleaning means, and a recording device provided therewith. CONSTITUTION: A feeding roller cleaning device 20 is fitted to the position opposite to a feeding roller 4 on an intermediate plate 3 in a sheet cassette. The feeding roller cleaning device comprises a cleaning member supporting plate 22 to which a plate magnet 21 attracted by the intermediate plate 3 is fixed, and a felt member 23 which is a cleaning member which is fixed to the cleaning member supporting plate 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device provided in a recording device such as a printer, a copying machine and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A copying machine equipped with a conventional sheet feeding apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, the sheets S stacked on the intermediate plate 3 in the sheet cassette 2 attached to the apparatus main body 1 are fed by the action of a pressing spring 5 that presses the intermediate plate 3 toward the feeding roller 4. 4 is fed one by one from the uppermost surface by the action of the feeding roller 4 rotating in the sheet feeding direction and the separating claw 6, and further, by the registration roller 7 on the downstream side of the feeding roller 4, the ink jet recording head. The sheet S is fed to a position where the recording heads 8 face each other, and the sheet S on which a predetermined image is recorded by the recording head 8 is discharged onto a discharge tray 10 by a discharge roller pair 9.

The feeding roller 4 has a semicircular cross section obtained by cutting a part of a round roller with a flat surface and has a curved surface portion 4a and a flat surface portion 4b. When the sheet S is not fed, as shown in FIG. 7, the flat portion 4b of the feeding roller 4 is held at a position facing the sheet S so that it does not contact the sheet S.

When the sheet is fed, the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 is moved to the sheet S while the feeding roller 4 is rotated once.
And the surface of the sheet S is brought into contact with the feeding roller 4 and the surface of the sheet S by the contact frictional force, so that only the uppermost sheet S is fed out past the separating claw 6. It is fed to the registration roller 7.

Here, in order for the sheet S in the sheet cassette 2 to be fed by the feeding roller 4, the frictional force between the surface of the uppermost sheet S and the surface of the feeding roller 4 is the maximum. It must be greater than or equal to the sum of the surface frictional force between the upper sheet S and the lower sheet S and the conveying force for the uppermost sheet S to cross the separation claw 6.

[0006]

However, on the surface of the sheet S with which the feeding roller 4 comes into contact, foreign matter that causes slipping such as paper dust may coexist, and thus in the above-described conventional sheet feeding apparatus. When the sheet S is continuously fed, the foreign matter such as paper dust adheres to the surface of the feeding roller 4 and gradually accumulates, and the frictional force between the surface of the sheet S and the surface of the feeding roller 4 gradually increases. descend. As a result, there is a problem that a slip occurs between the sheet S and the feeding roller 4 and the sheet S cannot be fed.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems.
The purpose is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus and a recording apparatus equipped with the sheet feeding apparatus, in which foreign matters that cause slipping such as paper dust adhered to the sheet feeding means are removed by a cleaning means to prevent sheet feeding failure. It is intended to be provided.

[0008]

A typical structure according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets, a sheet stacking means capable of stacking and accommodating sheets, In the sheet feeding apparatus including the sheet feeding apparatus, a cleaning unit that removes foreign matter adhering to the sheet feeding unit is provided in the sheet stacking unit.

Further, the recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises the sheet feeding apparatus and recording means for recording an image on a sheet fed by the sheet feeding apparatus according to image information. And

[0010]

Since the sheet feeding device according to the present invention is configured as described above, the cleaning means provided in the sheet stacking means removes foreign matter that causes slipping such as paper dust adhering to the sheet feeding means and removes the sheet. Maintains frictional force between the feeding means and the sheet.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a copying machine using an ink jet recording system will be specifically described as an example of a sheet feeding apparatus and a recording apparatus according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing a simplified configuration of a copying machine which is a recording apparatus according to the present invention,
2 is a perspective view of a sheet cassette, which is a sheet stacking unit of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a cleaning unit of the first exemplary embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

First Embodiment First, the overall configuration of the recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and then the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a main body of a copying machine as a recording apparatus according to the present invention, an image reading unit A for reading a document image is arranged on an upper portion of the main body, and an image processing unit is provided in an intermediate portion of the main body 1. B is arranged.

A sheet cassette 2 which is a sheet stacking means that can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 1 is attached to the lower portion of the apparatus main body 1. Inside the sheet cassette 2, paper, synthetic resin, or the like is placed. Sheets S composed of are stacked and accommodated. The sheets S stacked on the middle plate 3 in the sheet cassette 2 are constantly urged toward the feeding roller 4 by a pressing spring 5 that presses the middle plate 3 toward the feeding roller 4.

Then, the feeding roller 4 which is a feeding rotator serving as a sheet feeding means rotates in the sheet feeding direction so that the uppermost sheet S comes into contact with the feeding roller 4 and rotates. By the action of 4 and separation claw 6, 1 from the top
The sheet S fed out sheet by sheet, further fed by the registration roller 7 on the downstream side of the feeding roller 4 to a position facing the inkjet recording head 8, and the sheet S on which a predetermined image is recorded by the recording head 8 is a discharge roller. It is discharged onto the discharge tray 10 by the pair 9.

The feeding roller 4 has a semicircular cross section obtained by cutting a part of a round roller with a flat surface and has a curved surface portion 4a and a flat surface portion 4b. At least the surface portion of the feeding roller 4 is made of rubber. It is composed of a friction member having a relatively high friction coefficient such as or synthetic resin. In addition, the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4
The perimeter of the sheet is configured such that the leading edge of the sheet S fed in contact with the curved surface portion 4a can reach the registration roller 7.

When the sheet S is not fed, as shown in FIG. 1, the flat portion 4b of the feeding roller 4 is held at a position facing the sheet S so as not to contact the sheet S.

During sheet feeding, while the feeding roller 4 is rotated once, the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 contacts the uppermost sheet S, and the surface of the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 is moved to the uppermost position. The sheet S moves due to the contact frictional force acting on the surface of the sheet S, and only the uppermost sheet S is fed out past the separating claw 6 and then fed to the registration roller 7, and the lower sheet S is separated. Top sheet S with nail 6
And is left in the sheet cassette 2.

Here, the frictional force between the surface of the uppermost sheet S and the surface of the feeding roller 4 is the surface frictional force between the uppermost sheet S and the subordinate sheet S and the uppermost sheet S. Is configured to be equal to or greater than the force of the conveyance force for the sheet S to pass over the separation claw 6, whereby the uppermost sheet S in the sheet cassette 2 is fed by the feeding roller 4. The registration roller 7 can be reached.

The registration roller 7 conveys the sheet S fed from the sheet cassette 2 by the feeding roller 4 to a position facing the recording head 8 at a predetermined timing corresponding to the recording operation of the ink jet recording head 8. A platen 11 for supporting the back surface of the sheet S at the recording position is arranged at a position facing the inkjet recording head 8.

On the other hand, the image signal read by the image reading section A is processed into a recording signal by the image processing section B and transmitted to the ink jet recording section 12. The inkjet recording unit 12 is configured to employ a serial scan method in which the inkjet recording head 8 is operated to repeat recording with a constant width.

Next, the structure of the sheet cassette 2 is shown in FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet cassette 2 is attached to the apparatus main body 1 so as to be drawn out in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1, and is configured to be operated from the front surface (right side in FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body 1. ing.

In FIG. 2, inside the sheet cassette 2,
Both ends of an intermediate plate 3 made of a magnetic material such as iron-based metal are rotatably supported by a side wall 2a near the bottom at a substantially central portion of the sheet cassette 2. The intermediate plate 3 is a sheet cassette. The elastic force of the pressing spring 5 arranged at the bottom of the feeding port 2 causes the elastic force of the pressing spring 5 to always urge the upward direction (the feeding roller 4 side). Separation claws 6 are arranged above both ends of the sheet cassette 2 to prevent the middle plate 3 from being urged upward by the separation claws 6.

Further, inside the sheet cassette 2, the sheet S is fixed at a predetermined position on the side surface of the sheet cassette 2.
And a side guide 13a that abuts the side end of the sheet S to regulate the position of the sheet S in the width direction and is movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction with respect to the sheet cassette 2 (hereinafter referred to as "width direction"). And a side guide 13b that comes into contact with the side edge of the sheet S to regulate the position of the sheet S in the width direction, and is movable in the sheet feeding direction (hereinafter referred to as "length direction") with respect to the sheet cassette 2. A rear end plate configured to contact the rear end of the sheet S and regulate the position of the sheet S in the longitudinal direction.
14 are arranged respectively.

When the sheets S cut to a predetermined size are stacked on the sheet cassette 2, the sheets S are placed on the intermediate plate 3.
And the separation claw 6, and one side end of the sheet S is attached to the side guide 13a and placed on the middle plate 3, and the side guide 13b corresponds to the width size of the sheets S to be stacked. Is slid in the width direction of the sheet S and brought into contact with the other side end of the sheet S. Then, the rear end plate is made to correspond to the length size of the sheet S so that the front end of the sheet S is always stacked at a predetermined position of the feeding port of the sheet cassette 2.
14 is slid in the length direction of the sheet S to move the sheet S.
Abut on the rear end.

When the lowest sheet S among the sheets S stacked in the sheet cassette 2 is stacked by directly contacting the middle plate 3, for example, the middle plate 3 made of metal having a relatively small friction coefficient is used. The frictional force acting between the sheets S made of paper is smaller than the surface frictional force acting between the sheets S.

When the uppermost sheet S stacked in the sheet cassette 2 in this state is fed by the feeding roller 4, the sheet S placed at the lowermost position and the middle plate 3 slide. Occurs, the bundle of all the sheets S stacked in the sheet cassette 2 is moved, and there is a problem that feeding failure occurs.

In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 2, a sheet-like felt member 15 for slip prevention having a predetermined friction coefficient is attached to a position of the intermediate plate 3 facing the feeding roller 4. The felt member 15 exerts a frictional force on the lowermost sheet S to prevent the feeding failure.

Next, the feeding roller cleaning device 20 as a cleaning means for removing foreign matters such as paper dust or the like adhering to the sheet feeding means, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the feeding roller cleaning device 20
Is configured to be attachable / detachable by a magnetic force to a position facing the feeding roller 4 on the intermediate plate 3 arranged in the sheet cassette 2.

The structure of the feeding roller cleaning device 20 has a thickness dimension equal to or greater than the thickness of the felt member 15 exhibiting the slip prevention function, and is arranged with an interval L equal to or greater than the size of the felt member 15. Two plate-shaped magnets 21 and a cleaning member support plate to which the plate-shaped magnets 21 are fixed
22 and further has a predetermined length in the sheet feeding direction on the cleaning member support plate 22, and has a width equal to or larger than the width of the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 in the sheet width direction. Felt member 23 as a cleaning member for removing foreign matters such as paper dust attached to the feeding roller 4 that cause slipping.
Is fixed to a position facing the feeding roller 4.

Here, the intermediate plate 3 is made of a magnetic material such as an iron-based metal as described above, and the plate-shaped magnet 21 having a predetermined magnetic force is formed inside the felt member 15 having a slip preventing function. The felt member 23, which is a cleaning member, can be disposed so as to be opposed to a position where it can be brought into contact with the feeding roller 4 by being attracted to the plate 3.

Further, the feeding roller cleaning device 20 can be detached integrally with the feeding roller cleaning device 20 by pulling it away from the intermediate plate 3 against the attraction force by the magnetic force of the plate magnet 21. Is.

Normally, when a start button (not shown) is pressed in the printing mode of the copying machine, the feeding roller 4 is rotated once by a driving source (not shown), and the ink jet recording head 8 is operated by another driving source (not shown) to perform serial printing. The copying machine according to the present exemplary embodiment is configured to scan and print. Further, in the copying machine according to the present exemplary embodiment, during cleaning for cleaning the feeding roller 4, the driving source of the recording head 8 is not operated and the feeding roller 4 is not operated. A cleaning-only mode for rotationally driving only 4 is provided.

Next, with the above structure, the feeding roller 4
The cleaning operation when foreign matter such as paper dust that causes slippage adheres to the paper will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
The sheet cassette 2 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 1, and when the sheets S are stacked in the cassette 2, the sheet S is taken out from the cassette 2.

Then, the feeding roller cleaning device 20 configured as described above is attached to the middle plate 3 of the cassette 2, and the cassette 2 having the feeding roller cleaning device 20 attached is attached to the apparatus main body 1.

Then, when the copying machine is set to the above-mentioned cleaning mode and the start button is pressed, the feeding roller 4 rotates once or a plurality of times, and the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 is rotated.
Is brought into contact with the felt member 23, which is a cleaning member of the feeding roller cleaning device 20 attached to the middle plate 3, foreign matter such as paper dust adhered to the feeding roller 4 is removed, and the surface of the feeding roller 4 is removed. It is cleaned, and the friction performance of the feeding roller 4 is restored.

In this embodiment, since the feeding roller cleaning device 20 can be attached to and detached from the intermediate plate 3 by the magnetic force of the plate-shaped magnet 21, the feeding roller cleaning device 20 can be easily attached to and detached from the intermediate plate 3. , A felt member as a cleaning member after use
When 23 becomes dirty, it is easy to clean the detached felt member 23 itself or replace it with a new felt member 23, and a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-operate feeding roller cleaning device is provided. It is possible to

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional explanatory view showing a cleaning means of the second embodiment of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention. The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the felt member 23 applied as the cleaning member in the first embodiment, as the number of cleaning times of the feeding roller 4 increases, as the foreign matter causing the slip such as paper dust adheres and accumulates on the felt member 23. However, since the cleaning ability gradually decreases, it is troublesome that the felt member 23 has to be cleaned or replaced.

In order to solve this, in this embodiment, as the feeding roller cleaning device 30, a brush member made of metal, synthetic resin or the like is used as a cleaning member on the cleaning member support plate 22 of the first embodiment. 31 is fixed to the feeding roller 4 so as to face it. The entire length of the brush member 31 in the sheet feeding direction has a predetermined length, and the width of the brush member 31 in the direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction is longer than the width of the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 in the sheet width direction. It has a structure. The other parts are configured similarly to the first embodiment.

When the feeding roller 4 comes into contact with the brush member 31, foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the feeding roller 4 is repelled by the brush member 31 to remove the foreign matter from the feeding roller 4. The sharpness of the tip of the brush member 31 and the pressing force against the feeding roller 4 are set so as not to damage the feeding roller 4 when the brush member 31 contacts the feeding roller 4.

As described above, since the cleaning member is composed of the brush member 31, foreign matters that cause slipping such as paper dust are less likely to accumulate on the brush member 31, and cleaning or replacement of the cleaning member is unnecessary. Therefore, maintenance and inspection of the feeding roller cleaning device 30 is easy, and the life of the cleaning member is extended, which is economical. Therefore, it is possible to provide a less expensive feed roller cleaning device with good operability.

In the first and second embodiments, the middle plate 3 is entirely made of a magnetic material, but at least the portion where the plate magnet 21 is mounted may be made of a magnetic material.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In addition, the first
The same members as those in the embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the detachable feeding roller cleaning device used in the first and second embodiments, a cleaning device for cleaning the feeding roller 4 must be separately provided,
There is a problem of cost.

In the present embodiment, the function of cleaning the feeding roller 4 is selected by selecting the material of the felt member 15 having the function of preventing the slip of the sheet S in the sheet cassette 2 described in the first embodiment. The felt member 15 also has a structure. Therefore, the material of the intermediate plate 3 in the present embodiment need not be made of a magnetic material as in the first and second embodiments, but may be made of synthetic resin such as plastic.

The felt member 15 having both the functions of preventing slipping of the sheet S and cleaning the feeding roller must have a high coefficient of friction with respect to the sheet S and a cleaning ability. Therefore, as a characteristic of the material of the felt member 15 having such a function, it is preferable that the felt has fine bristles and a short bristles.

As the felt member 15 having such characteristics of materials, there are Polo mix suede, Palpa unimax wade (UNIMAC-SUEDO), Pulpas BM-
There are 4301, N25 Tokko, etc. (These are all known by their trade names).

The above-mentioned material, which has a predetermined length in the sheet feeding direction, is larger than the width of the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 in the sheet width direction in the direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. The felt member 15 having a width is attached to the intermediate plate 3 at a position facing the feeding roller 4.

The cleaning operation of the feeding roller 4 in the present embodiment having the above-described structure will be described. First, FIG.
As shown in, when the sheet cassette 2 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 1 and the sheets S are stacked in the cassette 2,
The sheet S is taken out from the cassette 2 and the cassette 2 is attached to the apparatus main body 1 again.

When the copying machine is set to the same cleaning mode as in the first embodiment and the start button is pressed, the feeding roller 4 makes one or more rotations, and the feeding roller 4 adheres to the intermediate plate 3. Contact with the felt member 15 removes foreign matter such as paper dust or the like adhering to the feeding roller 4 that causes slipping, and cleans it, and the friction performance of the feeding roller 4 is restored.

According to this embodiment, since each member constituting the feeding roller cleaning devices 20, 30 as in the first and second embodiments is unnecessary, the cost can be reduced, the cost is low and the operation is simple. It is possible to provide a feeding roller cleaning means. In addition, operability is improved without the need to attach the feeding roller cleaning device as in the first and second embodiments.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a sectional explanatory view showing a cleaning means of a fourth embodiment of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention. The same members as those in the first and third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the feeding roller cleaning device used in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, it is necessary to pull out the sheet cassette 2 from the main body 1 of the device and remove the sheet S each time when cleaning.
There is a problem that it takes time to operate.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the first to third embodiments, the cleaning mode of the copying machine as described above is not provided, but instead, as shown in FIG. A sheet detection sensor 40, which is a sheet detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the sheet, is arranged at a position facing the sheet S stacked on the cassette 2 of the apparatus body 1.

Then, after the feeding of all the sheets S in the cassette 2 is completed, a mode in which the feeding roller 4 is automatically rotated once or a plurality of times by the "no sheet" signal from the sensor 40 is copied. By installing in the machine,
Like the third embodiment, the feeding roller 4 is cleaned.

The sensor 40 is composed of a reflection type sensor, and is provided at a position where the presence or absence of sheets S of all sizes usable when the cassette 2 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1 can be detected. In the case of the present embodiment, the size of the cassette 2 is such that the maximum number of sheets S that can be accommodated in the cassette 2 can be fed to the end, that is, the cause of slipping of paper dust or the like on the feeding roller 4. The number of sheets S is large enough to prevent defective feeding during feeding due to accumulation of foreign matter. The other structure is similar to that of the third embodiment.

With the above-described structure, according to the present embodiment, the sheet S is removed by removing the sheet cassette 2 from the apparatus main body 1 at every cleaning, as in the first to third embodiments. There is no need to improve operability,
An inexpensive feeding roller cleaning means can be provided.

[Fifth Embodiment] Next, a fifth embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The same members as those of the first and fourth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, the copying machine is configured in the same manner as described above except for the cleaning mode, and instead of the sheet detection sensor 40 of the fourth embodiment, a sheet detection means is provided as shown in FIG. The presence or absence of the sheet S in the sheet cassette 2 is detected by the photo interrupter 50 arranged between the roller 7 and the roller 7.

In FIG. 1, normally, when the print start button is pressed, the feeding roller 4 makes one rotation, the sheet S fed from the sheet cassette 2 is fed to the registration roller 7, and the upstream side of the registration roller 7 Also, the passage of the sheet S is detected by the photo interrupter 50, which is the sheet detecting means provided between the registration roller 7 and the feeding roller 4, and the predetermined printing operation thereafter is continued. There is.

Here, if the photo interrupter 50 does not detect the sheet S within the predetermined time, it is recognized that the sheet S is not stacked in the cassette 2, the printing operation thereafter is stopped, and the apparatus is stopped. The print operation unit (not shown) of the main body 1 returns to the initial print mode. Then, when the sheet S is replenished in the cassette 2 and the start button is pressed again, the printing operation is started and printing can be performed.

In such a structure, when the print start button is pressed after the feeding of all the sheets S in the sheet cassette 2 is completed, the feeding roller 4 is made of felt as a cleaning member constructed in the third embodiment. It is possible to recover the friction performance of the feeding roller 4 by cleaning the feeding roller 4 by rotating once while contacting the member 15.

Further, as described above, also in this embodiment, the size of the cassette 2 is such that the maximum number of sheets S that can be accommodated in the cassette 2 can be fed to the end, that is,
The size is set to accommodate the number of sheets S so that a feeding failure does not occur during feeding due to accumulation of foreign matter that causes slipping of paper dust or the like on the feeding roller 4.

With the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to provide the feeding roller cleaning means without changing the structure of the main assembly 1 of the apparatus and without any trouble.

[Sixth Embodiment] Next, a sixth embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the cleaning sheet. The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the above-described first embodiment, except for the feeding roller cleaning device 20, the other parts have the same configuration. The material of the intermediate plate 3 is not limited to the magnetic material as described above.

The cleaning sheet 60 shown in FIG. 6 is stacked on top of the sheets S stacked in the sheet cassette 2, and the cleaning sheet 60 is fed to the feeding roller 4 by the feeding roller 4 before printing. It is configured to remove foreign matter such as paper dust that has caused slipping and to clean it.

The cleaning sheet 60 has a structure in which the sheet feeding roller 4 on the sheet member 61 having the same size as the sheet S set in the sheet cassette 2 faces the sheet feeding roller 4 in the sheet feeding direction. An adhesive portion 62 having a length equal to or greater than the circumferential length of the curved surface portion 4a and having a width equal to or greater than the width of the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 in the sheet width direction is provided in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction, The adhesive part
A mount 63 that covers the adhesive portion 62 is attached onto the 62.

Before the cleaning sheet 60 is loaded on the sheet cassette 2, the backing sheet 63 is attached to the adhesive portion 62, so that the cleaning sheet 60 is not used except when the feeding roller 4 is being cleaned.
The adhesive portion 62 of the device is prevented from being inadvertently adhered to other members of the apparatus main body 1, and when the cleaning sheet 60 is loaded on the cassette 2 or when loading the cleaning roller 60 when cleaning the feeding roller 4. The mount 63 is peeled off to expose the adhesive portion 62.

When the cleaning sheet 60 loaded on the sheet cassette 2 is fed by the feeding roller 4, the curved surface portion 4a of the feeding roller 4 rotates while contacting the adhesive portion 62, and the adhesive portion 62 is rotated. Foreign matter that causes slipping, such as paper dust, that has adhered to the feeding roller 4 due to the adhesive force is peeled off from the feeding roller 4 and adsorbed to the adhesive portion 62, and the feeding roller 4 is cleaned and fed. The friction performance of is restored.

In the cleaning sheet 60, the sheet member 61 is made of a material having high rigidity, or the sheet thickness is increased to maintain the rigidity of the waist, and the feeding roller is formed by the adhesive force of the adhesive portion 62 of the cleaning sheet 60. It prevents wrapping around 4.

Normally, when the start button is pressed in the printing mode of the copying machine, the feeding roller 4 is driven by a driving source (not shown).
, And the recording head 8 is actuated by another drive source (not shown) to perform serial scanning and print operation.
In the present embodiment, when the feeding roller 4 is cleaned, the drive source of the recording head 8 is not operated so that the cleaning sheet 60 fed to the position where the recording head 8 faces is not printed. It is configured by providing a cleaning-only mode for operating.

In this embodiment, since the feeding roller 4 can be cleaned even when the sheet S is accommodated in the sheet cassette 2, it is not necessary to take out the sheet S from the sheet cassette 2 and the operability is improved. Further, the feeding roller 4 can be cleaned with the cleaning sheet 60 stacked on the top of the sheet cassette 2 without attaching a device dedicated to the cleaning to the sheet cassette 2 simply by adding the electric control of the copying machine. It is possible to provide a cleaning means that is inexpensive and has good operability.

[0072]

The sheet feeding device according to the present invention is provided with the cleaning means which is attachable to and detachable from the sheet stacking means, so as to clean the sheet feeding means to which foreign matters such as paper dust causing slippage are attached. You can do it. As a result, the frictional force of the sheet feeding means does not decrease, and sheet feeding defects can be prevented.

Further, specifically, when a felt member or a brush member detachably provided by magnetic force is provided on the middle plate of the sheet cassette as the cleaning means, paper dust or the like attached to the surface of the feeding rotary member. It is possible to clean foreign substances that cause slipping. In particular, when the brush member is used, unlike the felt member, it is not necessary to clean or replace the cleaning member itself, which is advantageous in terms of operability and life.

Further, when a felt member is provided on the middle plate of the sheet cassette as a cleaning means having both the function of preventing the slip of the sheets in the sheet stacking means and the cleaning function of the sheet feeding means, it is inexpensive and easy to operate. Can be configured as a good cleaning tool.

Further, in the case where the sheet feeding means is configured to clean the sheet feeding means by feeding the cleaning sheets stacked on the top of the sheet stacking means, the constitution of the apparatus main body 1 is The sheet feeding means can be cleaned without changing it, and can be configured as an inexpensive and easy-to-use cleaning means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a simplified configuration of a copying machine that is a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet cassette that is a sheet stacking unit of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing a cleaning means of the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing a cleaning means of a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view showing a cleaning means of a fourth embodiment of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a cleaning sheet.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Device body, 2 ... Sheet cassette, 2a ... Side wall, 3 ...
Middle plate, 4 ... Feed roller, 4a ... Curved surface portion, 4b ... Flat surface portion, 5 ... Pressing spring, 6 ... Separation claw, 7 ... Registration roller, 8 ... Ink jet recording head, 9 ... Ejection roller pair, 10 ... Ejection tray , 11 ... Platen, 12 ... Inkjet recording section, 13a, 13b ... Side guide, 14 ... Rear end plate, 15
... Felt member, 20,30 ... Feeding roller cleaning device, 21 ...
Plate magnet, 22 ... cleaning member support plate, 23 ... felt member, 31 ... brush member, 40 ... sheet detection sensor, 50 ... photo interrupter, 60 ... cleaning sheet, 61 ... sheet member,
62 ... Adhesive part, 63 ... Mount, A ... Image reading part, B ... Image processing part, S ... Sheet

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device comprising sheet feeding means for feeding sheets and sheet stacking means capable of stacking and accommodating sheets, wherein cleaning is performed to remove foreign matter adhering to the sheet feeding means. A sheet feeding device, wherein means is provided in the sheet stacking means. 2. The cleaning means is provided on an intermediate plate for stacking sheets of the sheet stacking means.
The sheet feeding device described in. 3. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit has a function of preventing slipping of the sheet and a function of removing foreign matter adhering to the sheet feeding unit. Feeding device. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit includes a felt member. 5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit has an adhesive member and is composed of a sheet member stackable on the sheet stacking unit. 6. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the sheet stacking unit. 7. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning unit has a brush member. 8. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit dedicated mode for performing a cleaning operation by the cleaning unit. 9. A cleaning means dedicated mode is activated by having a sheet detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet in the sheet stacking means, and recognizing that there is no sheet in the sheet stacking means by the sheet detecting means. 9. The structure according to claim 8, wherein
The sheet feeding device described in. 10. A sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a recording unit for recording an image on a sheet fed by the sheet feeding device according to image information. A recording device characterized by having.